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If you have clicked on this, then I am guessing you are interested in starting to TRADE. You have probably seen YouTube videos, or read eBooks etc. and you have seen how good a Traders lifestyle can be, and I am sure you would like the same kind of lifestyle. However, in truth only a very small % of Traders get to live life at that level!

I am not going to lie to you, it takes years to become a good Trader and to be honest the only way you are going to learn is by losing your money! “Learn to take losses. The most important thing in making money is not letting your losses get out of hand.” – Marty Schwartz

There are many different elements needed to trade and you have to learn to respect and master them, one being RISK. Risk is 100% the most important skill to understand and learn how to manage and it is by far the hardest skill to stick to. You need to plan your risk and not disrespect the markets; they will most certainly turn on you when you least expect them to. “Throughout my financial career, I have continually witnessed examples of other people that I have known being ruined by a failure to respect risk. If you don’t take a hard look at risk, it will take you.” – Larry Hite

Plan your trades; do not make a trade size that will destroy your account in seconds if it goes the wrong way. Personally I trade no more than 0.5 -1% of my entire account. That way my losing risk is minimal and fingers crossed with the right calculations and trade, the next trade will be a winner putting a smile on my face. “I’ll keep reducing my trading size as long as I’m losing… My money management techniques are extremely conservative. I never risk anything approaching the total amount of money in my account, let alone my total funds.” – Randy McKay

If you are losing a trade don’t keep piling more trades on top chasing a loss, praying to every god that’s ever lived to turn the trade around, this way you will lose everything. (Although hopefully you will learn a lot, like me) “The elements of good trading are: 1. Cutting losses, 2. Cutting losses, and 3. Cutting losses. If you can follow these three rules, you may have a chance.” – Ed Seykota

You are not going to get it right every time! “In this business if you’re good, you’re right six times out of ten. You’re never going to be right nine times out of ten.” –Peter Lynch

Even if you open an account with $1000 or $10,000 do not worry about how much you make at the beginning. Small trade sizes and small profits add up over time. When you feel comfortable take the next step up, the aim is to never lose what you put in at the start! “Don’t focus on making money; focus on protecting what you have.” – Paul Tudor Jones

Learn to love losing and learn from the loss, it will happen, just manage how much you lose by. Don’t let greed take over your trade, small and steady wins, – Unknown source , of the top of my head.

You should start with a DEMO account to get used to the trading platform you wish to use and learn how to make a trade. Demo accounts offer real time trading and are a great way to learn, however you have to treat it as real money and not place silly trades. I prefer to use IG as they offer a great platform with more markets to choose from than most other platforms. You can set up a DEMO account here

All thats left is to wish you Good Luck.. If you need help with setting up or would like a guided tour of the platform send me a message to info@the30minutereview.com

Its great, you have started early saving towards your retirement. You have already worked out how much you need to save each month to achieve your end goal and you have invested it yourself or with a financial professional. You are paying monthly contributions, and have been for years and you are set for a great retirement, HOWEVER…

There are plenty of things that can go wrong between the start and finish or your investment! If you are not paying attention to your investments, you could end up losing some or even your entire retirement fund. For example, Inflation, Fees, Bad Risk Management, Poor Allocation, Diversification, Market Volatility, Other Fees, More Fees and, Even More Fees you didn’t even know you were paying.

Well, here is 7 ways to help you avoid losing your retirement money.

Check Your Fees

No matter what investment you make or what size it is, there are charges and although they may seem low they have a massive impact on the overall performance of your portfolio.

If you do not understand your fees ask someone who does, they will be able to examine your investments and find every hidden charge and explain them clearly. For example, you may pay 15 – 50 Euros for a trade and if you are only trading 1000 Euros then that investment will have to go up 1.5 to 5% before you make profit. You might be paying high annual management fees to the advisory firm, high fund charges and high admin charges. Find out what these charges are and see how they are affecting your portfolio. It could be that you are paying more in fees each year than you are actually making!

Risk

Take special care with risk, risk is your personal tolerance to how an investment may potentially react in a down turn of a market. If you are a cautious investor, and you are in high-risk investments you will be very worried if an investment was suddenly losing 20% over one year. However, with risk comes the potential for a better return, but there is less risky investments that can produce just as good if not better returns.

Allocation

Allocation is key to any portfolio; do not put all your eggs in one basket! Have multiple funds, ETFs, Stocks etc. You might decide to have 25% in Funds, 25% in ETFs, 25% in Stocks and 25% in Bonds across the board. You may decide to have 5 funds, 3 balanced and 2 higher risk, placing 10% in each fund and 20% in the other 3. The type of allocation depends on a number of factors taking all of these and more points into consideration.

Diversification

This however, does not mean choosing different stocks in one market, if the markets go down, most stocks go down with it and so can the other countries markets. Over diversifying can also be a bad idea, e.g. you have invested into a Oil Fund and Natural Resource Fund, if oil goes down, natural may go up, if natural goes down, oil may go up. Eventually you may only get back what you put in, or at least somewhere close if you are lucky.

Performance

How often are you checking the performance of your investments? Once a year, when its time for that annual review with your advisor, if they decide to even call. Make sure that you get online access to view your investments and make sure you CHECK them and do it regularly, at least once a month. If you are losing money find out why! And if you continue to lose money find another advisor!

Investment Type

What are you invested in and do you understand it? Never invest in something if you do not understand it! If your advisor cannot explain how the investment works in a way you understand, stay a way, do not sign on the dotted line unless you understand what you are signing!

There are many different investments and certain investments are not always best for everyone, there is an investment for everyone but you should seek professional advice to look at options that best suit your needs and goals.

Time Horizon

How long are you investing for? Short, medium or long term, if you are in your 20s looking to save for your retirement, you are looking at a long term investment and you can look to invest in higher-risk investments. If you were only 5 years away from retirement, then you would want to invest in less risky investments and take a more cautious approach. You would not want to reach your retirement date and then look to see that the markets are crashing and you have lost 30-40% of your retirement fund.

If you are unsure about any of the above tips and want to get a review of your investments make sure that you get in touch with a professional.

It’s great, you have started early saving towards your retirement. You have already worked out how much you need to save each month to achieve your end goal and you have invested it yourself or with a financial professional. You are paying monthly contributions and have been for years and you are set for a great retirement, HOWEVER…

There are plenty of things that can go wrong between the start and finish or your investment! If you are not paying attention to your investments, you could end up losing some or even your entire retirement fund. For example, Inflation, Fees, Bad Risk Management, Poor Allocation, Diversification, Market Volatility, Other Fees, More Fees and, Even More, Fees you didn’t even know you were paying.

Well, here is 7 ways to help you avoid losing your retirement money.

Check Your Fees

No matter what investment you make or what size it is, there are charges and although they may seem low they have a massive impact on the overall performance of your portfolio.

If you do not understand your fees ask someone who does, they will be able to examine your investments and find every hidden charge and explain them clearly. For example, you may pay 15 – 50 Euros for a trade and if you are only trading 1000 Euros then that investment will have to go up 1.5 to 5% before you make profit. You might be paying high annual management fees to the advisory firm, high fund charges and high admin charges. Find out what these charges are and see how they are affecting your portfolio. It could be that you are paying more in fees each year than you are actually making!

Risk

Take special care with risk, risk is your personal tolerance to how an investment may potentially react in a down turn of a market. If you are a cautious investor, and you are in high-risk investments you will be very worried if an investment was suddenly losing 20% over one year. However, with risk comes the potential for a better return, but there is less risky investments that can produce just as good if not better returns.

Allocation

Allocation is key to any portfolio; do not put all your eggs in one basket! Have multiple funds, ETFs, Stocks etc. You might decide to have 25% in Funds, 25% in ETFs, 25% in Stocks and 25% in Bonds across the board. You may decide to have 5 funds, 3 balanced and 2 higher risks, placing 10% in each fund and 20% in the other 3. The type of allocation depends on a number of factors taking all of these and more points into consideration.

Diversification

This however, does not mean choosing different stocks in one market, if the markets go down, most stocks go down with it and so can the other countries markets. Over-diversifying can also be a bad idea, e.g. you have invested into a Oil Fund and Natural Resource Fund, if oil goes down, natural may go up, if natural goes down, oil may go up. Eventually you may only get back what you put in, or at least somewhere close if you are lucky.

Performance

How often are you checking the performance of your investments? Once a year, when its time for that annual review with your advisor, if they decide to even call. Make sure that you get online access to view your investments and make sure you CHECK them and do it regularly, at least once a month. If you are losing money find out why! And if you continue to lose money find another advisor!

Investment Type

What are you invested in and do you understand it? Never invest in something if you do not understand it! If your advisor cannot explain how the investment works in a way you understand, stay a way, do not sign on the dotted line unless you understand what you are signing!

There are many different investments and certain investments are not always best for everyone, there is an investment for everyone but you should seek professional advice to look at options that best suit your needs and goals.

Time Horizon

How long are you investing for? Short, medium or long term, if you are in your 20s looking to save for your retirement, you are looking at a long term investment and you can look to invest in higher-risk investments. If you were only 5 years away from retirement, then you would want to invest in less risky investments and take a more cautious approach. You would not want to reach your retirement date and then look to see that the markets are crashing and you have lost 30-40% of your retirement fund.

If you are unsure about any of the above tips and want to get a review of your investments make sure that you get in touch with a professional.

Protect yourself financially against an accident or an illness, which could prevent you from doing your job as a pilot. Whether the accident or illness occurs at work or outside of work, temporary or a permanent disability. With Pilot Insurance, benefits are payable regardless of your ability to carry out any other occupation in the aviation field or in another profession.

Our Advisor can offer comprehensive, competitive coverage that is available to airline pilots, commercial pilots, and flight instructors and you can also include optional short-term disability cover with your income protection policy if you wish.

Key benefits of pilot income protection

Temporary Total Disability

Monthly income benefit of up to 75% of certified gross earnings

Benefit period 24 months

Deferred period 90 days

Permanent Total Disability

Lump sum choice of 1x, 2x, 3x or 4x times annual salary

Payable after 24 months continued disability

Paid out when there is no prospect of an improvement in condition

Own occupation definition

Benefits payable regardless of your ability to carry out any other occupation in the aviation field or other profession

Optional cover

Include optional short-term disability cover with your Pilot Income Protection if you wish.

Short-term disability insurance

Start receiving disability benefit after just 28 days and bridge the income gap between being unable to work and receiving your temporary total disability benefit. Particularly suitable for newly qualified pilots with training loan repayments to make.

Minimum deferred period 28 days

Maximum benefit of 60% of certified gross earnings

Benefit period 90 days – inclusive of deferred period

If you are a pilot and would like to find out more and receive a quote BOOK A CALL TODAY and an Advisor will be in contact

Savings rates with banks are low and have been for years. In terms of value, your savings are actually decreasing due to inflation. This year’s decision by the European Central Bank to leave interest rates on hold isn’t going to help either.

With interest rates at historic lows, savings rates have struggled to keep pace with inflation. Savers would have needed a 3.9% interest rate over the last five years to beat inflation. Many of us have not been getting near this rate, however, there are options out there that can help protect and help build your wealth.

While it’s tempting to leave your money in a ‘risk-free’ savings account, the value of your capital in real terms may be falling. There are things you can do to try to beat inflation and maintain the buying power of your money.

One option you may wish to consider is investing over the medium to long term, 5 years or more investments offer potentially greater returns than fixed rate savings accounts. But, before you invest, there are a few things to consider.

Do you have spare money that you could afford to invest?

Could you afford to tie up your money for 5 years or more to ride out ups and downs in the market?

What is your attitude to risk?

A professional financial advisor can help you to answer these questions and others. They will be able to tell you if investing is right for you. Your advisor should have plenty of financial planning and investment experience, they can also help you to invest in a way that suits you.

If you would like to learn more about how you can keep up with inflation and protect your savings BOOK A CALL TODAY. An advisor can explain your options to you carefully and make sure that you are comfortable with any decisions you make.

In the movies, TRUSTS are often referred to when young people are living the high life on a Trust Fund that was left to them by their wealthy parents after something tragic happened to them. However, a TRUST is NOT just for the rich. In fact anyone can and should have a TRUST in place to take advantage of the many benefits one can provide.

What is a TRUST – A TRUST is an agreement, binding persons, individuals or a company, spelling out rules that are to be followed by the Trustee’s’ to deal with the ‘property’ (the Estate) in a particular way, for the benefit of one or more chosen ‘beneficiaries’.

Your TRUST Avoids Probate.

Probate, is a process that can take a long time to complete and this causes problems, as you cannot gain access to any of the Estate until it clears. Even if you have a Will, your estate has to go though a probate procedure in the Courts. Having a TRUST removes the need and allows your family to benefit from your estate right away.

You Keep Control.

You keep control of the TRUST in your lifetime! If there is a change that you need to make, you can. You can change terms of use, ages of entitlement; you can cut people out or choose a different charity to leave money to. You have the control; a TRUST states how you want you wealth to be used and by whom after you are gone.

Generation Planning

Having a TRUST not only allows you to let you partner and children enjoy what you leave but, having a TRUST will also pass down the family tree to your grandchildren then to your great grandchildren to enjoy, or at least it will until its all gone! But, with proper management and ‘INVESTING’ you could potentially make it go much further.

Generation Tax.

Another great thing about generation planning is that the TRUST you created and left to your family to enjoy is basically a loan from you. This means that it will not fall into the beneficiary’s estates when they die, meaning their children will not pay Inheritance Tax (IHT).

It Is less Expensive Than You Might Think.

Now, you might be thinking that a TRUST is expensive! Its really not. The cost does vary from professional to professional and from country to country, to the type of TRUST you require and how you want the TRUST to be structured but, the price is worth it! You will save your family thousands, you will save them time, and you will save them from going though the extra trouble of probate and at the same time protect your wealth for years to come enabling you to leave a legacy for your future generations.

Reduce Care Costs.

Are you worried about care cost? Probably not, who thinks about getting ill and not being able to look after themselves! Well, even if we are lucky enough not to get a serious illness in our working life, we all get OLD. However, when this does happen we sometimes become more dependent on others to help us, and often this does not always come free or cheap! Your Estate can be used to pay for care costs; not a nice thought! However, if your Estate is in a TRUST there can be a solution!

Low Maintenance.

Trusts are low maintenance, once they are set up they are set up, depending on how the TRUST is structured nothing may need to happen until you pass away, your assets will just simply fall into the TRUST then pass on to your family.

Young Children.Do you have young children?

If you died and left your 3 year old or 16 year old son all of your wealth, what do you think he would to spend it all on? Having a TRUST allows you to appoint a Trustee, this Trustee can use and allocate the money in the way you determined in the conditions of the TRUST being used to look after your child. Once your child is old enough, for example 21 or 25 years of age then they can have direct access to that Trust Fund and use it to buy a house or start a business of their own.

Eliminate Or Reduce Estate Tax.

Having a TRUST, with the right person setting it up for you, will allow you to reduce and eliminate IHT costs (Inheritance Tax), leaving more for your family.

Marriage After Death.

When you die your spouse or partner after time, may find someone else and eventually re-marry. If you have left your Estate to your spouse or partner and they in turn die before their new partner, their new partner would inherit all of your Estate, that you worked so hard for. If you had children together, they may find that they do not receive anything from your Estate and it may all go to a different family to enjoy. If you had in place a family TRUST your assets would stay within your family and would not ‘fall into the wrong hands’

Written for you by The30MinuteReview.com

To find out more about how a TRUST could help you get in touch and an Adviser will contact you to arrange a call.

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